Baloch separatist leader Hyrbyair Marri has said the Baloch people are not in favour of seeking help from India to gain freedom, BBC Urdu reported on Saturday.
In an interview in London, Marri said he was fighting for an “independent Balochistan” however neither he nor his associates have any affiliation with the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militant group.
In response to a question about separatist Baloch Republican Party (BRP) leader Brahamdagh Bugti’s statement that he was ready to give up his demand for an independent Balochistan if the Baloch so desired, Marri said: “No, I don’t think the majority of Baloch people want to live with Pakistan.”
Marri said he was not seeking assistance from India for his movement: “I have never sought help from them, nor will I in the future.”
He also rejected reports that he travelled to India to start the Free Balochistan Movement.
Hyrbyair Marri — who has been living in self-exile in London since 2000 — is alleged to have been leading the banned BLA.
The June 15, 2013 attack on the Ziarat Residency in Quetta was carried out by the BLA which also claimed responsibility for the murder of 13 non-Baloch labourers in September the same year.
In June this year, an anti-terrorism court in Quetta had indicted Marri and 32 others in the Ziarat Residency bombing case.
Earlier, in a report published by The Hindu, representative of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Organisation (BLO) Balaach Pardili was quoted as saying that he was hoping to “facilitate Nawabzada [Hyrbyair] Marri’s visit to Delhi in near future.”
According to The Hindu‘s report, Pardili, who hails from Afghanistan, has been living in Delhi since 2009 and was recently contacted by Marri to represent him at public meetings.
